The Visiting Duck

By

Helen Allen

I am a pink eared duck.

A little while ago I was by the lake at

Temora with a group of my friends.

Suddenly a big dog came bounding

up.

He only wanted to play but he was a

bit rough for me. He hurt me when

he opened his big mouth and I got in

the way.

I did not have anything

broken but I was bleeding

and could not fly.

My friends all flew away.

I was all alone and feeling

very sad. Can you see my blood stained chest?

Then some nice people came along. They found

carers from WIRES to help me get better.

The WIRES carers kept me warm and safe.

When I was strong enough to swim, the WIRES carers took me to the dam at ErinEarth

Before they let me into the water they took a picture of me.

The dam at ErinEarth is fenced so the friendly dogs could not come in and disturb me.

I could swim very slowly.

After a few days, my swimming got a lot better.

ErinEarth is such a lovely place, just ideal for a poor duck like me to start to get better.

After a short time, I was very happy feeding.Can you see my very wide bill?With my wide bill, I filter the water and collect all the little insects and plankton.

In the water, I had all the good food I needed for a well balanced diet.It made me strong again.

As much as I liked to feed and swim in this wonderful place at ErinEarth, I had to find my friends. They were at the river not too far away.I got better in two weeks and then I was strong enough to fly away to be with my friends.

On the map you can see where I live in Australia.

I hope to visit ErinEarth again one day because it is such a lovely place.

The End

Thank you to the WIRES carers and all those nice people at ErinEarth

An ErinEarth Adventure

© 2013 Helen Allen and the Trustees of the Presentation SistersText: Helen AllenPhotographs: ErinEarth VolunteersBackground: Sophie Cooper

This book is for Kindergarten to Year 2.

ErinEarth1 Kildare StreetWagga Wagga, NSW 2650Australia

Ph: (02) 6925 7150email: erinearthwagga@ozemail.com.au